The Deal
by aloette
Summary: She is still wondering how she got here. The Mafia, that is. AU
1. A Chance at Redemption

I know that the whole Mafia twist on Ouran isn't exactly new, but I wanted to write one anyway. Hopefully, the plot is different. Reviews are appreciated. This is an AU fic. Ratings may rise.

Thank you for reading!

* * *

_Who is he?_

_Nobody has ever quite caught a glimpse of this mysterious figure._

_We only know him by the name "Shadow King." His spokesman, Suoh Tamaki, is a prominent public figure for this reputed Mafia chief, but he has never revealed any details on this enigmatic person._

_One detail that is known, however, is that he is also a businessman. Unfortunately, there are an unrecorded number of Tokyo businessmen, and the real Shadow King has never been found._

_He controls the gambling unions and docks of Tokyo and many other regions in Japan. From what we know, he is very shrewd and secretive. _

_He could be walking amongst us in the streets, but we will never know._

_Just recently, this Mafia chief came up in the news when two gangsters from his organization were charged with the murder of a policeman._

_The lawyer for the police is–_

"Fujioka!" the man called to her. "Why are you reading the article? You already know everything about it, right?"

"I do," Fujioka Haruhi replied. "But it's also good to read the papers to see their perspective so I know how they think."

Suzuki scratched his head. "That's true, I guess. But then again, I'm not a lawyer."

"Is there something you need?"

"What?" Suzuki looked a bit sheepish. "Well, actually…oh! I'll ask you some questions about the case."

"Why?"

"Aw, just humor me, Fujioka," he pleaded. Then he asked at rapid speed, "Who are the accused?"

"Names are Ukyo and Sakyo."

"Do they have a record?"

"Yes."

"For what?"

"Some petty crimes here and there."

"Were they ever sentenced?"

"Sentences were suspended and they walked."

"Do you want to go out with me?"

"No." she said without batting an eyelash. "Is that it?"

He considered begging with her. "Why not, Fujioka?"

"I'm not interested."

"I thought I could trick you into it."

"It's not much of a trick if you've tried it a thousand times."

"Have I really?"

"I don't know."

"Well, then," he shuffled his feet, "I hope you win."

"Thanks." She was reading the paper again, only half listening to him.

"So, I was wondering, if you win, I'll treat you to dinner."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

Suzuki was rather disheartened for the rest of the day.

* * *

It never failed to amuse her just how corrupt the world was. It was one of the greatest changes she underwent since becoming a lawyer. Part of the reason why she had become a lawyer in the first place was because of her mother, but another reason was because she believed in the law, believed in the system of justice.

Never had it occurred to her that this system, this system of justice, was flawed.

It all began when she graduated from law school, and she was in need of a job. The only position that she found acceptable was an internship with the judicial police department.

She had imagined it to be over in an instant, that she would go to a law firm at the first opportunity she saw.

She soon realized that it wasn't that easy.

She, Fujioka Haruhi, like many others, had had a blind faith in the law. The law is what brought criminals to justice, what brought people freedom from oppression.

After working with the police, she realized the dark side of the law.

People were corrupt.

They didn't mind getting bribed. They didn't mind "forgetting" about that corner of the city where it was heavily reputed to have gambling chains. People used themselves in a way that was too shameful for her to think of.

_And these were people in the police department!_

The faith in this system of justice was gone in a matter of four months.

As the newbie, Haruhi was forced to start out as a janitor. Being a janitor did not mean cleaning a bathroom until it was squeaky clean; it was the name for the person who did all of the dirty work.

She covered up the trails of cops who had records. She bribed the bookies in the precincts to prevent them from leaking information. She did all of this with indifference because she believed that she would leave in only a matter of time. It was also because she had no choice but to listen to the higher-ups.

This would be her first case after working for a year as a "janitor." It called for her to defend the police against a reputed Mafia chief in the Tokyo area. This Mafia lord, or Shadow King, was also supposedly a big shot businessman.

Haruhi had wondered if that was even possible.

The case was simple. Two Mafia gangsters had been involved in the killing of a police officer. The evidence was obvious, but there was no body. Without the body, the police could not make an argument.

It would be Haruhi's job to find a body and to take care of it.

"We will be counting on you to defend this for us," the police chief proclaimed. "We've got to show those Mafia that justice will always prevail!"

The police chief alone had a record with six DUIs, a gambling problem, and a scandal involving two young women. Haruhi decided not to say anything about it. She had been the one to cover up that scandal, and it had not been pretty.

No matter how bad the case seemed, however, she decided that it would be a rather welcomed change from her growingly repetitious life.

Her first task had been to research the Mafia. It was led by a young man, whose name she could not find, in his late twenties. To Haruhi, that seemed to be a young age for controlling a Mafia organization.

The spokesperson for the mysterious leader was also young. His name was Suoh Tamaki, and she recognized his picture from the papers. He was constantly in the news because of his big mouth, and there were once allegations of _him_ being the Mafia chief.

Seeing that this was not the case, Haruhi had deduced that the real chief must have been a person who didn't like the limelight.

There was a small group of advisors for the Mafia chief; in total, there were four. Their names, too, could not be found. The organization was decidedly very smart in covering up its tracks.

The two gangsters who were accused of killing the police officer were considered foot soldiers in the ladder of Mafia organization. It was the bottom rung of the ladder, and Haruhi quickly found their records: each had been sentenced twice, but in both cases the sentence was suspended.

This had only strengthened Haruhi's growing distrust in the legal system. The evidence was overwhelming; the gangsters had been seen at the scene of the crime. Their faces were clearly seen by witnesses. Even the getaway car's license plate number was easily caught, and it was a real license plate, too.

Haruhi had learned that gangsters often used stolen license plates to create confusion.

The only piece of evidence missing was, however, the body. Without the body, she could not make the case against the Mafia. It would all be in futility, and Haruhi would go back to being a janitor.

So it was in this state of mind that led Haruhi to do the unthinkable: she made an appointment to meet the Mafia chief. People usually do not meet with a Mafia boss because a) they might get killed or b) they might get heavily mutilated and then killed. But Haruhi was desperate for a lead, and she decided that risk was better than nothing.

The meeting was arranged through the spokesman, Suoh Tamaki, over the phone. As the reports had claimed, Suoh was very charming, even over the phone. He geniunely seemed interested in meeting her, especially when he realized that she was of the female gender. The meeting was set in three days' time.

Maybe it was a tactic used to distract the people so the Mafia could kill them easily, Haruhi thought. But she shook herself of her morbid thoughts because what would the Mafia have to gain from killing her, a janitor?

A car was arranged to pick her up a posh coffeehouse twenty minutes from her workplace. The car would be there at six thirty, Suoh had said.

Haruhi was there at six fifteen, unusually early for her standards. It was the middle of January, still cold, and she paced around in her long coat hoping to keep warm.

Parked in front of the coffeehouse was a black sedan. The driver had been instructed to follow Haruhi when she left. She hadn't liked the idea, but let it pass, since it had been the police chief who'd ordered it.

The car was there on time. The back door opened up, and a voice, young and cheery, called out for her.

Temporarily stunned by this out of place voice, it took Haruhi a moment to register the fact that the car had arrived, and she slowly made her way to the car. As the car left, the black sedan slyly followed.

There were four people in the car, all of whom were men. It was very toasty inside, and she breathed a sigh of relief at its warmth.

The cheery voice belonged to a young man called Haninozuka. "Call me Hunny," he called from the front.

"So you're the famous Fujioka Haruhi," the voice besides her drawled. He was also young, with vibrant red hair. He held out his hand. "Hitachiin Hikaru. Next to me over here is my brother, Kaoru."

The man called Kaoru leaned over his brother to shake her hand as well. With a smile, he said, "Pleased to meet you, Fujioka-san. You can call me Kaoru."

"Yes…of course. Pleased to meet you as well," she said, shaking his hand back. They were a lot kinder than the people in the police, she thought. And why was she famous?

"And this," Hunny said, pointing to the driver, "is Takashi! Call him Mori." He patted the man, who must have been at least six foot, and added, "He's my cousin!"

"So you must be the four advisors," she said.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "I'm impressed that you found out that much."

"I didn't know your names, but I guess I do now," Haruhi responded.

"Most people don't even know that we exist," Kaoru explained. "This is a first."

"Do you usually meet with people like this?" she asked.

"No," Hikaru said with a small smile. "Usually we just kill them."

Haruhi gave a shudder. "How wonderful."

She began talking about the case, but she soon realized that nobody really seemed to care.

"Um…I'm sorry, is there something wrong?" she asked with uncertainty.

"We agreed to let you meet us because of the case," Hikaru said. "But really, there is nothing to talk about."

"What do you mean?" she demanded. "A cop has been killed and two of your men have been–"

"What he's trying to say is that the two men are not the killers," Kaoru gently said. "Ukyo and Sakyo did not kill that policeman nor did they did not rob him. In fact, on that day, they had been training at our private grounds. It's impossible."

"But the evidence! It's all there," she sputtered out. "The faces! The witnesses – WOAH!"

The car had suddenly swerved. Mori, with great audacity, turned the car one hundred eighty to turn from the one lane onto the returning side of the road with no accident.

The other cars were stunned, but moved on.

"That was really good, Takashi!" Hunny exclaimed, giving his cousin a pat on the back.

The man grunted his thanks.

Looking over his shoulder, Hikaru said, "Looks like we got rid of it."

"Good job, Mori," Kaoru. "We'll be sure to mention it to him."

'Him,' Haruhi guessed, could only be this Mafia chief. "What was that for?" she asked, having gotten over the shock.

"Silly girl," Hikaru said. "You thought you could put a tail on us?"

"You didn't think that we'd be looking for a move like that?" Kaoru said. He reached into his pocket, implying he had a gun in his pocket. Haruhi's heartbeat raced. But he only said, "Be thankful that we've got orders to not harm you. We're not cold-blooded killers after all."

How reassuring, she thought. "I'll have you know that it wasn't my idea," she said. "It was insisted upon by the police."

"It's okay," Kaoru said. "You don't have to cover up yourself with an excuse like that."

Seeing that they weren't going to believe her, Haruhi stayed put. She said nothing, and the others did not bother to instigate on Kaoru's previous claims of the gangsters' innocence.

She decided to use this time to think. If she were to assume that Kaoru was telling the truth, which she couldn't be sure of, then who were the people behind this? And why?

And how would she explain the faces and witnesses and other evidence? And the body. What had really happened?

Hunny broke the silence. He turned around from the front seat and said, "Fujioka-san, you're a good person."

The comment caught her off guard. "Excuse me?"

"You're a good person," he repeated. "Why are you doing this?"

"Excuse me, but this is my job and–"

"We're here," Mori announced.

"Oh, finally," Hikaru complained. "My back is seriously killing me."

"What about my back?" Kaoru asked. The two got off the car. Haruhi followed them out. In the front, Hunny jumped out, and Mori was right behind him.

She didn't recognize the neighborhood that they were in. It was getting darker now. Shivering, she pulled up the collar of her coat.

She followed the men into a small building. It was a bar, and it must have been one that the men frequently went to because all they did was wave at the proprietor before getting ushered into a corner of the room where no one could eavesdrop on them.

"Do you come here often?" she asked Hikaru. She was beginning to tell the two twins apart.

"We own the place," he replied. "And just so you know, we're not here to have dinner and all that nice stuff. It's strictly business."

"As I expected," she said, taking off her coat.

They were seated at a round table. The room was dim, and Haruhi adjusted her eyes. Through the darkness, she vaguely saw the expensive décor and fancy furniture. "This is pretty high class," she muttered.

After drinks were served, Kaoru began talking. "I know that you thought you were here to talk about the case, but that's not what's going to happen."

"We can't convince you of Ukyo and Sakyo's innocence, but we will show you something else," Hikaru finished. She began to notice that the two brothers often spoke one after another, as if they knew what to say.

Figures, she thought, since they're twins and all.

"Okay, I'll keep an open mind about it, but don't forget who I'm defending here," she said.

Hunny shook his head. "You're missing the point. Don't you see? You may be defending the police, but what does that really mean? Are you doing good by defending corrupt people?"

"Are you saying that _you_ aren't corrupt?"

"Okay, okay," Kaoru broke in, "we don't want an argument here over corruption. Save it for another time."

"Another time?" she asked.

He shrugged. "We'll be seeing each other a lot more in the near future."

* * *

Sitting in her bare apartment, Haruhi mulled over the conversations she had. To her disappointment, she had not been able to meet the mysterious Mafia chief, nor his spokesman.

Kaoru explained that the two were on a business meeting concerning the dealings of a new product. He had failed to elaborate on the subject, but Haruhi had quickly learned to let things go.

From what they told her, Ukyo and Sakyo were innocent. It was a set-up by the police to try to lure the Mafia out. The Mafia was not that stupid, Hikaru retorted, who did the police think they were going up against?

That was why she had been assigned the case. A rookie, she would have not had the experience to win, and the police knew this. Public humiliation would forever demote her to being a janitor, and the police would continue its corrupt ways.

"Why should I believe you?" she had asked. "There's a good chance that you're lying. Besides, what do you expect me to do? I have to defend them."

"We know about you," Hunny had replied. "We know that you're very talented and waiting for a break-through. We know that you're unhappy with the position that you're at."

Haruhi decided not to ask how they knew all of this.

"What does that mean? You want me to betray them?" she had asked.

"No," he said. "But we are offering you a job. Personal lawyer to the Family. Better than being a janitor, right?"

She shook her head. This was too much. She was given another drink, which she gulped down. The liquor calmed her nerves.

She was in a state of uncertainty right now. The window of her apartment was open, and it was nearing midnight, but she didn't bother to close it. Somehow, the chilling air refreshed her mind.

She was thinking about what they wanted her to do. Make the case, but show that this was the work of corrupt police. Not real cops. We have people in the newspaper, Hikaru had said, and we can supply the information to them about the truth.

About the truth.

It was what she had sought for the better part of her life. What she had wanted by being a lawyer, but could only watch as it was utterly destroyed.

It was chance to live her dream, she thought. What her life was right now was only an illusion.

And then it hit her: she would be joining the Mafia.

Would she be one of those people on the wanted list? Would she be hunted down by her former colleagues, the police?

But they weren't really the police. The Mafia, as scary as it may sound, were better people. Would she be willing to take that risk?

Or was this all a ploy?

She fell onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. There were too many thoughts right now.

Before she fell asleep, she wondered: had this all been planned? Had this Mafia chief thought everything out, even her current frustration? If so, he was pretty damn smart.


	2. The Trial

Wow, it's been what, two months since I updated? Whoa, that's a long time. Anyways, I hope it turned out okay, and maybe the story is actually interesting.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

In retrospect, Haruhi thought, the trial was only a buildup to what would really happen. While the trial itself was unimportant, its aftermath was definitely significant.

It was in the courtroom when she learned again how corrupt the system was.

The arrogance of the police officers annoyed her, especially when they were both on the "same" side. They acted as if they had places to be that were much more important than this. They acted above the law, something that Haruhi despised.

This was when Haruhi also learned that people on your "side" did not necessarily tell you, the lawyer, the complete truth.

She learned that most of the original details were sketchy, and some were even made up. The physical descriptions she had learned of the culprits were soon found to be false as soon as she set her eyes on the two Mafioso's: Ukyo and Sakyo.

They were actually small and slender, not as the description had claimed: "tall, like giants with fearsome expressions."

Their expression right now ranged from pure terror to disbelief. They kept shifting their heads around the courtroom as if looking for the sympathy that, in reality, would never come.

It seemed like their true intent was to put the two gangsters, who were really innocent, in jail for no apparent reason.

Haruhi wondered which was worse: to put someone in jail for no reason, or to let two gang members go free.

Her role in the courtroom was belittled by the judge, who did not care much for the case either. She was disrespected by the defense attorney on the other side, and her own clients were making snide comments about her.

In any case, the trail ended within an hour.

The verdict: three months in prison. Then – suspended sentences.

So in the end, they were free. But as wrong as it seemed, Haruhi was secretly pleased. The look of relief of the faces of the two men almost made Haruhi want to laugh at her boss.

The Mafia lord that everyone was anxious to see was a no-show. Even his spokesman, Suoh Tamaki, was not present. The four advisors, however, were there, but they kept their distance from each other and covered their heads with hats and such.

No one suspected them.

Haruhi could sense what they were saying to her: We told you so, now come on our side.

But she was confused. What was she supposed to do? Her dream had been to fight for justice, but how was she going to do that when such justice did not exist?

Her belief in the system was gone, but she forced herself to think of the possible troubles that she could end up in.

She would be in the _Mafia. _That would spell doom for the rest of her life. Would she be expected to kill people in cold blood? Or to buy drugs from dealers?

What would become of her?

_I want to do what is right._

The police chief was visibly upset. "You – Fujioka," he growled at her, "are going back to where you were."

It was so wrong. Everything was not going as planned. Her world was toppling down, and that was when she made her decision.

_I can't face justice like this, not when it's just corruption in disguise._

She turned on the chief. "I'm sorry, Police Chief," she said, "but I can no longer do this."

And then she added with absolute authority. "I quit."

She left the courtroom shortly thereafter with the police chief looking after her.

"That bitch," he muttered. "Well, I've got plenty of where that came from. Damn lawyers always think they're hotshots."

--

"So, I see you made your decision."

Haruhi stopped mid-step. "Huh?"

She turned around and found herself face to face with the four advisors.

"You've decided to come with us," said one of the twins. Most likely Hikaru.

"A good decision though," said the other twin. Had to be Kaoru. "You saw what happened." He jerked his head in the direction of the courtroom. "Nobody gives a damn about the law and justice. So why bother?"

"I…I believed in the law," she said. "I did. That part of the reason why I became a lawyer. I didn't do it for the money or for the fame. I did it for myself…"

"A pure lawyer is rare nowadays. We picked a good one," Hikaru muttered. "But go on."

"I see what you meant, about what goes on. It wasn't what I'd expected."

"The truth can be deceiving," Mori said, his first words in the conversation. "But when you see the truth, nothing can hide."

"Yes," she said with a small smile. "That's true."

"Come on, Haru-chan," said Hunny, taking her hand. "You've gone through a lot today. Let's go sit down somewhere. We can talk there."

"Okay." She let herself be led by the small blonde boy. They went into a parked black Jaguar, and they were off.

They went to a house that was probably more like a mansion. It was located in the outskirts of Tokyo, in a neighborhood that Haruhi vaguely recognized as one of the most affluent.

Does this mean that they're rich? Does this mean that there could be rich Mafia living amongst the common folk, just like that?

A butler opened the front door for them and led them to the outside patio where the tea had already been set up.

"Sit here," Hunny said, and he literally forced her down on the middle seat. Haruhi was surprised by this show of strength from an unlikely source.

After the tea was poured and served, Kaoru began.

"We are the Mafia," he announced.

"I know that," she said, taking a sip. "Who else could you be?"

"Well," Hikaru now said with a sneer, "we _are_, also, the Ohtori Group."

Haruhi nearly spat out her tea. "_Ohtori?_" Were they trying to pull on her leg or something? The Ohtori Group was one of the nation's largest corporations with hundreds of businesses in various fields. "You're trying to tell me that you guys are the Ohtori Group?"

"Yes, we are," Mori solemnly said.

"And no," Hunny added, "we are not lying. We have the formal papers and everything, but we're not entitled to show you anything yet."

"Okay, fine, I believe you. So what else?"

"We don't deal in drugs. No narcotics or anything like that. We don't do dirty things like that," Hikaru said, "unlike your former employer, the police."

Haruhi merely nodded.

Hikaru went on. "Our chief business is the gambling docks around Tokyo, and we own most of the unions. We have influence that can stretch to America."

"And," Kaoru finished, "that's all we can tell you for now."

"But if you don't tell me now, when are you? Or do you expect me to figure things out along the way?"

Kaoru smiled. "No, but nice try. Our Mafia lord wants to meet you. Figures. He and his spokesman, Suoh Tamaki, are waiting for you right now. Second floor, last room on the left. It's a study."

"Right now?" Haruhi asked. Was this some test that she was worthy or something? Were they going to _kill_ her?

"Yes, right now," Hikaru said. "Mafia chiefs have busy schedules, you know."

"I see." So after taking one last sip of her now lukewarm tea, Haruhi stood up. She pointed back to the house. "That way?"

"Yeah, just follow through that arch, and the butler will show you the way," Kaoru said.

"Thanks." She left.

They watched her receding figure slowly disappear.

"So, do you think Kyouya-senpai's going to like her?" Hikaru asked.

"I like Haru-chan," Hunny said. "I'm sure Kyou-chan will too. Right, Takashi?"

Mori grunted.

Raising his teacup above his head, Hikaru said, "Here's to Haruhi's success that she won't get killed by the Shadow King!"

"Here!"

* * *

As you can see, Haruhi joined the Dark Side! Because they have strawberry cake _everyday_! Just kidding.

And I've decided to only use the Ohtori Group's name because using all the other families' companies will make it confusing. But maybe I'll combine them or something. I'll figure it out somehow.

Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.


	3. First Impressions

A new chapter. And on a side note, this fic's rating might go from T to M because of violence, references to drugs (don't worry, they won't be getting high or anything), and anything else that might be Mafia-related. It's not there yet, but if it does, I'll have a note.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

On the second floor, at the end of the hallway, Haruhi stood still, holding onto the handle. This was room that Kaoru had told her to got to. But why couldn't she turn the handle, she wondered.

Was this the right decision?

Was she going to regret this for the rest of her life?

Was she–

_No._

Shaking her head of these thoughts, Haruhi thought firmly that this was what she had decided. She could think for as long as she wanted, and she still would have ended with the same decision.

She strengthened her grip, beginning to turn the knob halfway.

Only to have the door suddenly open.

She stumbled into the door rather without much dignity, barely missing the person who had opened the door.

_So much for first impressions._

"Are you okay?" A hand reached out to her.

Haruhi looked up, finding herself face-to-face with a tall blonde man. She knew that this was Suoh Tamaki.

"I'm fine, thank you." She quickly straightened herself out, brushing her clothes down. She looked around the room. "Fujioka Haruhi. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you as well. This way." He led her to the other end of the study, offering her a seat in front of a desk.

And that was when she saw him.

He wore glasses. Dark black hair. A smug look on his face. "Ohtori Kyouya. Pleased to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you, Fujioka Haruhi-san."

_Ah, really?_ "Oh, the same to you." She looked around the room. Tamaki had closed the door and now seated himself next to her. "So, did you want to talk?"

Without a word, Kyouya tossed her a manila folder. "Open it." An order.

Puzzled but curious at the same time, Haruhi opened it. She heard herself gasping. It was full of information. About her, she realized.

Her grades from school.

Her medical records from school examinations and doctor trips.

Everything she'd done since graduation from high school. From college. From grad school.

All of the work she'd done during her time at the police department. A record of most of the jobs she had covered up. The things that Haruhi would never tell anybody, they were all there.

There was even a copy of her parents' marriage license.

_What is this?_

Confusion turned to frustration. "What is this?" she demanded.

Tamaki and Kyouya watched the look on her face.

And frustration slowly turned to comprehension.

"You're blackmailing me," she said flatly. "This is so that I won't ever go to the authorities. So I won't ever rat you out. Because you know everything about me."

"That's true," Kyouya acknowledged. "I'm impressed that you figured it out so fast. It took longer for the others."

"Others?"

"Of course. You honestly don't think you're the first lawyer we've tried to recruit, right?"

"And what happened to them?"

"Oh, they just," Kyouya began, "weren't good enough." He trailed off, and the expression on his face was enough to inform Haruhi what exactly had happened to those "not good enough." She gulped and tried to keep her composure.

"You're blackmailing me," she repeated.

"Blackmailing is too harsh of a word," Kyouya countered. "Think of it…as a collateral of sorts."

"A collateral of my life is what it is," she muttered underneath her breath.

"What?" Tamaki asked.

"Nothing," she said. She turned towards Kyouya. "So, um, Ohtori-san, what exactly do you do?"

"Our main source of income is from the gambling docks in Tokyo and other areas in the Kanto region. We control most of the unions, if not directly…" He paused for a moment before adding, "Then we have other ways. Legitimately, we own the Ohtori Group. We've merged a few years back with several other companies, so we encompass various fields."

"That would be including, but not exclusive to, fashion, medical care, entertainment, and recreation," Tamaki added.

"In short, you guys might as well be running Japan," Haruhi said.

"I wouldn't say that," Kyouya said. "That's very presumptuous of you, but let's say that our influence is very far-reaching.

"Think of it like this: you'd better move to the end of the world should you try anything funny. But then again," he said, looking directly into her eyes, "you don't own a passport, do you? A pity, really, especially in this age of transportation and technology. I'll have the twins arrange something for you as soon as possible."

Haruhi, again, was overwhelmed. _How does he even know that I don't have a passport?! A Shadow King is what he is!_ "If I may ask," she finally said, "what will I be doing?"

"I'm glad you asked," Kyouya said. "Tamaki?"

"Right." The blonde reached for a folder on the desk and flipped it open. He scanned the pages before stopping. "Here. I want you to research her."

_Her?_ Haruhi accepted the folder that was handed to her. There was a picture of a red-haired woman along with basic information. Her name, it said, was Ayanokoji.

Tamaki continued, "We've been getting a lot of calls lately from an unknown person. We traced the call, and this is what we got. We want you to find out exactly who she is and who she is working for." He smiled. "Think of this as your first assignment."

Turning towards Kyouya, he said, "Did I miss anything?"

Kyouya shook his head. "Then our meeting is over. Good luck to you. Hikaru will show you to your room."

Tamaki was standing up to let Haruhi up. She closed the folder shut, and that was when it hit her. _Wait – room?_

"Ah! Suoh-san, what did he mean about the room?"

"Oh, Hikaru!" Tamaki waved over the twin that was waiting outside. "Do you have Fujioka-san's luggage?"

_Wait a minute here! Luggage?_

"Yeah," he replied. "Yamato already has it there. They're currently unpacking it."

"Good."

Haruhi gapped.

_Good – what good? Why are they unpacking my luggage? My clothes!_

But Haruhi's current state of dread was ignored by both of the two men. Hikaru placed his hands on her shoulder and steered her to the other end of the hallway.

"This is your room," he said.

"What room?" she asked. "You don't think I'm going to _live_ here, right, Hikaru-san?"

"It's Hikaru to you. We're the same age, y'know?"

"Then I'm Haruhi. And you didn't answer my question."

"Well, this _is_ a rather big mansion, if I do say so myself. We all live here, but even so, there's a lot of room to spare. It's fine."

"Fine with you, maybe, but not me. I have an apartment!"

"That dump? Kyouya-senpai showed me the pictures. Don't you feel ashamed?"

She felt her face flush. "For your information, that's my _home_."

"Not anymore. I think Tamaki-senpai made a deal with your landlady. You were falling behind on your rent weren't you?" He made a small reprimanding sound. "You should be thankful. We aren't usually this nice to newbies."

"But why? You don't even know me. And I wasn't that behind on the rent, you know. I was going to get my paycheck at the end of the month."

Hikaru shrugged. "Say what you want." He sat down on an armchair. "Our generosity knows no bounds. We really are philanthropists, aren't we?" He pointed at her. "Oh, and by the way, because of Tamaki-senpai paying for your rent, you're now under debt to us."

"What!"

"Yeah, that makes sense right?" He stood up. "Don't worry. Kyouya-senpai will just take it out of your share of the money. A little each month and then"– he spread his arms wide out –"no debt! It's easy."

"How much does he pay?" she suddenly asked. Not that she cared how much she was getting paid, but she _was_ interested.

"Hmm. I'm not sure, actually," Hikaru said. "We usually just split the whole thing between us. It kind of varies."

"I see." She held her finger to her chin. "Then, can I ask you a question?"

"Fire away."

"Why do you call Ohtori-san, Kyouya-senpai, and Suoh-san, Tamaki-senpai?"

"Oh, you're asking about that?" He laughed. "We went to school together. And it kind of stuck, I guess. And then there's Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai."

"Hunny-senpai is the other blonde, and Mori-senpai is the tall one."

"Right. See? You're already catching on. You'll fit in no time. Everyone likes you. I don't know why, but there's something special about you."

"Oh." She eyed the room. It was nice, to be sure, but it felt so sudden that she wasn't sure what to think. "Am I really living here?"

"It that really so bad? Well, I'll leave you now. Yamato always is so efficient; he's got your clothes all packed in, but then again, you hardly had any clothes in the first place. Maybe Kaoru and I will design some clothes for you."

"Design?"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and laughed. "You really are funny, you know that? My family name is Hitachiin. Hitachiin as in the clothing brand."

And he left Haruhi standing with her mouth wide open. That Hitachiin? How was she supposed to know?

She fell onto the bed, nearly sinking into it.

Everything seemed so nice, but Haruhi was sure there was a hidden catch somewhere. She was sure of it. She counted her fingers off.

She had lost her apartment and was now in a debt to the _Mafia_.

She would be absolutely ruined should she say anything. And she was sure that she did not want that to happen.

She was living in a house with six men. That in itself was bad enough.

Was she really the only girl?

Haruhi closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep. Only a small nap, she told herself. To relieve her of the stress that was building up.

The job from hell. That was what Haruhi had just gotten herself into.

_Great, just great._

--

"Honestly, Kyouya, I was surprised that you wanted me to tell her that," Tamaki said, running his fingers through his hair. "That Ayanokoji incident was from six months ago at least."

"That's exactly why. If she has enough brains, she'll figure it out before the end of the day."

"And if she doesn't?" Tamaki asked uncertainly.

"Well…" Kyouya leaned in. "Let's hope it won't get to that. She's the fifth lawyer in the last two months. It would be an incredible waste to lose her. I think she would be good. What do you think?"

"I like her," Tamaki said. "And don't you think she was super cute? My, I hope she doesn't fall for me; my looks are simply _too_ good to resist."

"If anything," Kyouya replied, "it'll be the other way around. Anyways, we'll see how it turns out. We'll know if she's good by tomorrow morning."

"Yes," Tamaki said. "But on another note, we need to meet him. We've been putting it off for long enough."

"I've told you enough times," Kyouya said, "I'm not going for his deal. We are not going to go into that."

"I know that, Kyouya, but we still have to meet him. Or how about this? We'll have a meeting tomorrow about this, and we'll let Haruhi join us, so she can listen."

"So familiar with her already?"

Tamaki flushed. "We're a family, Kyouya, and she's a new addition to the family. An adopted child. Why, she'll be my daughter–"

"So you're confident that she'll succeed?"

"I'm positive, Kyouya! Optimism is the way to success, you know? Besides"– he tapped his hand on his stomach –"I've got this gut feeling. You always listen to your gut!"

But Kyouya had already ignored him, putting his attention into a new folder, full of details about the latest deal.

Tamaki kept talking.

* * *

Well, I hope that was okay. I feel sorry for Haruhi, you know?

Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.


	4. There is a Rejection of Sorts

I don't know why, but I always get these impulses to change the summary. I'm sorry, it's just a weird fetish of mine. And I made this fic's first 'villain' Kuze Takeshi, who is a manga-only character. For anyone who has never read the manga, just know that he has a one-sided rivalry with Kyouya, and is obsessed with oranges while the peel is still on. Kaoru kind of explains him in the chapter.

Warning: this chapter does talks about narcotics like heroin and that kind of stuff. They're not doing it, but would mere mentioning cause the rating to go up?

Anyways, thanks for reading!

* * *

Haruhi was not dumb.

She was smart. Obviously.

Which was why she was _not_ amused when she under covered the truth of the Ayanokoji case.

After a few minutes of dozing, she'd gone straightaway to the laptop that was already set-up. Hn. She didn't own a laptop.

There was a note next to it. _"Think of this as a welcoming gift."_

She sat down and turned on the computer. But as she waited for the screen to turn on, she realized something.

There hadn't been a laptop in her room before she fell asleep.

--

"Is this your idea of a test?" she addressed the twins next morning. "Perhaps you're thinking that I need to be tested of my worth before I can work with you."

And in both of their most innocent voices, they said, "What?"

"You know what," she said with a wry look. "That Ayanokoji case Suoh-san gave me. He said that you guys needed information on her."

"So what about it?" Hikaru asked, a piece of toast in his mouth.

"She's dead," Haruhi deadpanned, "that's what. I found her file from the police department. She was a spy or something like that. Caused a bit of trouble for you guys six months ago."

"Then that's wonderful news," Kaoru beamed. "You've passed! Congratulations!"

"Thank you very much," she said sarcastically. "Then what does that prove? That I know how to use a laptop?"

Hikaru finished his toast. "Well, yes that too, but only so many people can access information from the police department. Then that means there's another good use for you."

"Why use me when you have Haninozuka-san?" she asked. "He has an uncle who is a police captain."

Kaoru sat upright. "How do you know about Hunny-senpai's uncle?" he demanded.

She shrugged. "You know things," she offered vaguely.

"Oh well, whatever," Hikaru said. "We've got a meeting to go to in about an hour. Haruhi, you should come too since it's all of us. There's this new deal that we've been offered, and Tamaki-senpai wants all of our inputs."

"An hour?" she protested. "But that's not enough time for me to do research."

"You can read my notes," Kaoru said, "I don't mind sharing."

She sighed. "Thanks, Kaoru."

So it looked like she was here to stay. Haruhi could only wonder where this path would lead her next.

--

"Kuze Takeshi," Tamaki began, "is starting a new business – in narcotics. He will come to us with a deal, asking us for protection and money from the police and courts. He will be asking for finance, and right now, that price is at five hundred million yen; we're promised to receive a piece of the action, but nobody knows how much."

Hikaru continued, "He has connections in Thailand, where the poppy is grown. Then he ships it to the Thailand-Burma border, where it gets produced into heroin. Right now, it seems that the Burmese plants are protected in every way, so there's no trouble in that regard."

"The only trouble then," Kaoru picked up, "is bringing it into this country and any further distribution. Also, the initial capital." He looked to Hunny and Mori. "Do you guys want to add anything? Hunny-senpai? Mori-senpai?"

"No, I think you've covered everything, Kao-chan," Hunny replied. "The only question now is: What does Kyo-chan want?"

Everyone looked at Kyouya. He had yet to say anything, preferring to silently read through the folders of notes.

"No," he finally said. "Our answer is no."

"But Kyouya-senpai, if we just stick to protection and finance, it should be okay!" Hikaru exclaimed. "I know that you don't like Kuze, but you wouldn't let that cloud the potential profits of this operation!"

"Ohtori-san…doesn't like Kuze-san?" Haruhi whispered to Kaoru. "This wasn't in the notes."

"I'll explain later," he mouthed.

"Not simply that, Hikaru." Tamaki stood up. "It's not a matter of us not believing in Kuze's words or liking or disliking him, it's about our morals, too. Drugs are a dirty business. Dangerous too. We can't have our men being arrested and thrown in jail. And if they talk to the authorities, we will suffer greatly." He sat back down.

"But, the potential of the rewards…is astounding!" he tried. To no avail.

"We've talked about this, Hikaru," Kyouya said. "We don't deal drugs. Do you understand? No matter how reaping the rewards may be, the cons of this is also – as you said – astounding."

"So when will we tell Kuze our answer?" Mori asked.

"A meeting has been scheduled for tomorrow at ten," Kaoru answered.

Hikaru was still fuming.

"Listen to me, Hikaru," Kyouya addressed him. "This has nothing to do about who Kuze is. It has nothing to do with what his offer is. It's only a matter of principle. That is the difference between us and all the other Groups. Surely you can understand that."

"Yes, Kyouya-senpai," he muttered back.

"Good." Kyouya smiled. "Then this meeting is over."

--

"So basically, it's a one-sided rivalry," Haruhi said. She placed her elbow on the table and leaned on her chin against her palm.

"Yeah, pretty much," Kaoru said. "Don't ask me why, but Kuze has always had this fixation of beating Kyouya-senpai. Not that he has ever come close. Kyouya-senpai doesn't really care about it. I think he only deals with it because it amuses him."

"Then why doesn't he just give up? If he has no chance?"

"Maybe some people just don't know how to," he said.

"Okay, then, why does he come to Ohtori-san? I'm sure he could go to someone else that _would_ want this deal."

Kaoru grinned. "Because we're the most powerful group in Tokyo, Haruhi-chan. We have the most connections inside the police and the politicians. God, we have so many people on our payroll. But it's all worth it – because then people always come to us first. Then we can do whatever we want with it. That's how we know everything."

Haruhi listened. It made sense, of course, but did this also mean that her former boss might have been on _their_ payroll? That would have explained a lot.

Her puzzled look must have alerted Kaoru because he quickly replied, "And no, the police department you worked for was not on our payroll. It's small with not a lot of power. It would have been a waste of money for us."

"Thank you for your reassurance."

"You're welcome."

Looking across the room, Kaoru saw his brother hunched on his bed, probably still upset over the meeting. "Hikaru," he called out, "don't tell me you're still moping."

"Shut up, Kaoru."

"So Hikaru _is_ mad."

"Shut up. How come none of you guys bothered to stand up for me? Even you, Kaoru. Don't you guys see the money we could make from this? We'll become even more powerful. More powerful than we already are above the other Groups in Tokyo, Kanto, and Japan." Hikaru sat up.

"Money isn't everything Hikaru. Besides, it's not like we're in a lack of it."

"It's not bad to have more, is it?"

"It's bad because it's the _wrong_ type of money, Hikaru."

"Shut up." He went back to lying down.

Kaoru turned back to Haruhi. "Sorry about that. He disagrees with Kyouya-senpai sometimes, but it's all for the better."

"I see. Well, I won't waste your time for any longer." Haruhi stood up. "Thanks for telling me about Kuze-san."

"No problem."

Haruhi turned to leave. "Oh, Haruhi – wait!"

She turned her head around. "What?"

"When we meet him," Kaoru slowly said, "just know that he likes oranges."

"Oranges?"

"Yeah. Just know that he really, _really_ likes them."

"Um…okay."

--

Kuze Takeshi was a tall, well-built man. He had sharp black eyes, and carried an air of quiet dignity. He was also eating in orange.

With the peel still on.

_Maybe this is what Kaoru was talking about_.

There were polite handshakes all around, and Kuze didn't seem too surprised that there was a woman partaking in the meeting. He must have been well-informed, she decided.

He got right down to business. The business was narcotics. The poppy was grown in Thailand, and shipped to Burma for production. If he wanted to, there was also a protected plant in Vietnam to convert it into morphine. Smuggling to both countries was safe. Entry into Japan would result in about a loss of five percent, but the profit was enormous and the risk virtually nonexistent.

Kuze finished and leaned back in his chair. He sneered at Kyouya, and took a bite of his orange. "Your turn, Kyouya-kun."

Kyouya did not rise to the jaunt. "Why do you come to me? What have I done to deserve this extremely generous offer?"

Kuze laughed, and Haruhi wondered why the two hated each other when they were so similar in so many ways. "I think you know the answer to that already, Ohtori. I need five hundred million yen in cash. That's right, cash. And I need a man who has many friends in powerful positions. I will admit it – you are the man I am looking for.

"Some of my couriers will be caught over the years. This cannot be avoided. I will promise, however, that they have clean records. Judges, therefore, will give light sentences.

"I need a friend who can guarantee that they will only spend a year or two in prison. Then they will not talk. But if it's longer, say ten or twenty years, then, who knows? There are many weak men in this world, Ohtori, and you and I are not one of them.

"But those…select few could jeopardize our entire business. And we would suffer for them. I need your legal protection, Ohtori, and as anyone knows, no one has more judges in his pocket than you."

"What is the percentage for my Group?" Kyouya asked, ignoring the compliment.

"Fifty percent." If it was possible, Haruhi thought, Kuze's eyes were gleaming. "In the first year, your share would be about six or seven hundred million yen. Then, it goes up."

_Six or seven hundred MILLION yen?!_

"So you're saying that I will receive fifty percent merely for finance and legal protection. I will play no in part in the operational end?"

"If you consider five hundred million yen to be 'merely finance,' Ohtori, then I have no choice but to salute you."

"I agreed to see you, Kuze, because we have known each other for many years. I know that you are a man to be respected," Kyouya said, "but my answer to you is no. It is true that the profits are huge, but so are the losses. Your operation may also harm my other interests should I decide to take part in it.

"And it is true that I have many friends in politics, but they would not be my friend should my business be narcotics, as opposed to liquor or gambling, which they think to be harmless vices, relatively speaking. To them, drugs are a dirty business."

"Ohtori…"

"No, I'm telling you what they think. It doesn't matter to me, Kuze, but I will say that this business of yours is too risky. My Group, along with the smaller groups in Tokyo, have lived peacefully for the last five years, and it wouldn't be worth it to put everyone in harm's way because of this."

The only sign of disappointment on Kuze's face was a flicker of emotion before it was replaced by a cold smile. He scanned the room as if hoping to see a sign of support. He found none.

He took another bite of orange, and to Haruhi, he looked seething.

Finally defeated, he bowed his head, and said, "Then, I will take my leave of you now, Ohtori."

Standing up, Kyouya shook Kuze's hand again. "My answer remains to be no, Kuze, but I wish the best of luck to you. I apologize for our conflicting interests."

Kuze bowed again, and he quickly scurried out of the room. Like a rat, Haruhi thought.

Once the room was quiet, Kyouya turned to Hikaru. "Good job."

Hikaru turned his head away and pouted for the rest of the day.

* * *

Kuze has been rejected, but what's his next move? If you're confused about anything so far, feel free to ask, and I'll try my best to answer your question. And I did research the information (as sordid as that may seem), so hopefully it seems plausible.

As a side note, I am currently looking for a beta. Please tell me if you happen to be interested.

Thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.


	5. Kuze's Comeback

This is kind of an intense chapter. A lot of things go on, so hopefully, it's not confusing to anyone. As always, please let me know if you are confused about anything so I can clear it up for you. I am also looking for a beta right now, so if you happen to be interested, send me a message or through a review.

Also, this will be the last chapter for about two weeks, as I am going away on an internship in a land far away. All of my other stories will also be put on hold until I get back. Until then, here is this long (relatively speaking) chapter.

I think this chapter is T, but please let me know if it's M or something.

Thanks for reading!

* * *

Life moved on. Haruhi found that time seemed to go by faster in her new home.

She found that she fit in – better than she ever did at the police department.

While no one – other than Suzuki – had ever talked to her there, she found her new acquaintances almost _too_ eager to take some of her time.

It was as if they had always meant to be together, some way or another. It was destiny, and there was nothing Haruhi could do about it. They constantly reminded her of that, to which she would roll her eyes and walk away to their loud protests. She had initially wondered if she was living with men with the mentality of teenagers, but quickly decided she would do better to think about something else.

The formalities slowly dropped, although it had happened on its own and without Haruhi ever noticing.

Something had changed, and Ohtori-san became Kyouya-senpai and Suoh-san became Tamaki-senpai and so on.

Nobody seemed to care, and if anything, it was an excuse for them becoming closer.

They were drawn in by her blunt character. Something about her intrigued them.

From co-workers to friends.

From friends to…family?

_No, we're not that close_. Haruhi shut her book with a thud. Hikaru jerked up from beside her. The twins, especially, had a habit of hanging on to her, following her everywhere despite her pleas.

"But we like you," they said in a tandem. "You're special to us."

That was what they had said in the beginning, but by now Haruhi had been promoted – or demoted depending on how you wanted to look at it – to 'toy'.

They dressed her up in their latest designs before it was sent to the market. They made her walk down a makeshift runway, and they marveled at her lack of skilled while commenting at the same time how cute she looked.

Haruhi had long since learned to go with the flow.

It had been three months since they rejected Kuze's offer, and although they initially feared a possible retaliation on his part, nothing happened.

Life moved on.

Her job was to be the one who studied the papers first. The one who kept an eye out for all of their Group's interests. The one who informed Kyouya of any slight change in stocks or a possible merger that might expand their power.

There weren't many changes in the mansion from the outside look. Haruhi was not one who added flower and frills to daily life, as much as Tamaki and the twins wanted it.

But on the inside, there were new additions. Especially to the kitchen cabinet.

It began when they ran out of coffee. Going by the universal rule that it is the new person who does all menial chores, Haruhi had obediently gone out to buy coffee.

As she walked outside, it was the first time that it occurred to her that she was living in a prison. The tall gates that surrounded the mansion gave off a jail-like presence, keeping them in and everyone else outside. She had to walk down a long drive-way with bushes on both sides as if it hid machine guns.

It was as if they lived in their own world, and she was an intruder who'd somehow been accepted. But what was so special about her?

She asked Kaoru about this when she came back.

"Well, yeah," he said, shrugging it off, "we have to. Otherwise we'll all get killed. You can walk down this whole street and not worry about it because we own all the houses around here. We have tenants and lower-ranking officials living there. It's the only way to protect ourselves from wars and all. You get used to it."

"When was the last gang war?"

"Probably like fifteen years ago when we weren't even involved yet. Kind of like the last generation thing." Kaoru peered inside the paper bag that Haruhi had brought back. "Haruhi – what's this?"

"Coffee, of course."

"This isn't coffee," he exclaimed. "You must have mixed it up for something else."

"Oh, it's instant coffee."

"_Instant_?"

"Um, yeah?"

The others suddenly burst onto the scene.

"Instant? Haruhi bought _instant_ coffee?" Tamaki's voice was bouncing off the walls, drawing the others closer in.

"Who drinks instant anyways?" Hikaru asked. "Oh yeah, commoners."

"I've never tried it before, have you Takashi?" Hunny poked the container. "Then again, I don't really like coffee."

"No."

"Look, guys," she sighed, "I'm sorry if I got the wrong type. I'll just go get the right type."

"No!" Tamaki held the can of instant coffee up in the air as if it was a coveted treasure. He clenched his fist, and added, "I want to try it!"

The others applauded Tamaki's bravery.

And that was how Tamaki's commoner obsession began.

And that was when Haruhi began regretting her decision to come here.

_They're like…rich mafia bastards…_

--

This instant coffee fetish spread to the twins, and so they sent her off today with a, "Have a nice journey!" They were so full of smiles and laughs, but it was that look that made Haruhi want to secretly wring their necks.

She wondered why they couldn't get their own coffee.

_Oh yeah, they probably don't know where to get it._

Today was a bad day to go out. Kyouya had decided to pile report after report on her to complete, and now she was going to be behind.

_I'd better run fast to the store._

Jogging as fast as she could, she got to the neighborhood supermarket in fifteen minutes. She bought the coffee at the cashier register (where the checker had begun calling her 'the instant coffee lady'), and quickly stepped out into the cold wind.

December. And she had forgotten her coat in her hurry.

She headed towards the mansion, but on her way back, she noticed a black car that seemed to be following her.

She quickened her pace, but it wasn't enough. She was already tired from running.

The door opened, and she saw Kuze Takeshi step out and block her way.

He grabbed her arm when she tried to maneuver around him, and he said, "Get in the car. I want to talk to you."

"I haven't the time right now," she tried, holding up the paper bag to show him.

When she struggled against his hold, he repeated more urgently, "Get in. I want to talk to you. If I wanted you dead, I could have gotten you whenever I wanted."

He then rather rudely shoved her into the backseat, and slammed the door shut. He got into the front seat, and added, "Trust me. I just want to talk to you."

Without a shred of trust, Haruhi sank into her seat and wondered what chaos would erupt when the twins didn't see their instant coffee.

--

Hikaru was bored. Haruhi, after all, was late.

It had been _twenty_ minutes since she's left.

"Give her some time," Kaoru offered, though Hikaru knew he was also bored. "Learn to have some patience."

But he was still bored. He flipped through the channels, and finding nothing, turned the television off.

The phone rang, and he called out, "It's okay, I got it!"

He picked up the receiver. "Hello?"

"Hitachiin Hikaru?" came the voice. It was very soft and raspy.

"Yeah?" he said.

"We have Fujioka Haruhi," the voice said. "In about two hours, she'll be released with our proposition. Until then, just sit tight, okay? Don't lose that temper of yours, okay?" There was a slight laugh on the other end, and Hikaru immediately suspected Kuze.

"I'll sit tight," he managed, though his blood was racing. What could Kuze be thinking?

"Good, good," and then the phone line was cut off.

Slowly, Hikaru placed the phone receiver back. Kaoru entered the room. "What's with the long face?" he asked.

He looked his brother in the eye. "Bad news…" he said.

--

Kyouya and Tamaki finished the work for the day fifteen minutes past six.

When they did not see their car parked at its usual space, Kyouya knew something was wrong.

"Who was the driver for today?" he asked Tamaki.

"Um, I think it was," Tamaki said, "Matsuoka." Then his face brightened up. "That's right," he added, "Matsuoka called in sick today. I was going to drive."

"Called in sick?" Kyouya said, now remembering. "He's been sick a lot lately hasn't he?"

"Maybe a few times in the last couple of months. I hear the flu's really bad this winter."

"I see. Well, if that's the case, I'll drive," Kyouya decided.

"What? I can drive. Kyouya, could it be that you do not trust me?" If anything, Tamaki was on the verge of tears.

"I trust you," he replied. "Just not with my life."

"Kyouya! I thought we were _friends_!"

The car was parked outside, which was strange because there was a perfectly usable parking lot right under the office complex.

While Tamaki babbled on and on about the value of friendship and such, Kyouya quickened his pace towards the car with Tamaki following him.

"And Kyouya, do you not realize how _rare_ true friendships between men occur nowadays? Why, I believe that our friendship is truly special; after all…"

And as they rounded the corner, Kyouya spotted two men, both sporting long black coats and hats.

He knew what was going to happen then in a blink of a second.

They were aiming at Tamaki, whose back was turned.

"You idiot! Get out of the way!" he called out.

It was then that the two assassins opened fire.

Tamaki turned in a surprise.

Too late. Acting on impulse, Kyouya jumped out, blocking his friend from the gunfire.

The first bullet caught his shoulder.

The second and third hit his back.

The impact forced him onto Tamaki, who was in shock. However, he managed to catch Kyouya and turn him around.

The few people on the streets were huddled in groups. Too scared to make a move, not even to call for help.

Knowing that their time had been cut short, the two gunmen shot two more hasty bullets. These two bullets hit the car, barely missing Tamaki. They had panicked, and they quickly fled the streets.

Kyouya, by this time, had lost consciousness.

Tamaki felt his legs turning to jelly out of pure fright. It was the closest he had ever come to being shot.

He slid down to the sidewalk pavement, but made sure that Kyouya didn't hit the ground.

"Kyouya…and right when I was talking about friendship, too," he muttered. "Oh Kyouya, don't die! You're not going to die!" He shook Kyouya. "Don't die, okay? I'm going to get help really fast, okay? Okay?"

He was crying. "Kyouya! Be strong okay? Okay?"

But Kyouya could hear nothing.

--

"You know, Takashi, it's almost seven and we haven't gotten a call from Kyo-chan yet," Hunny remarked.

"Maybe he's busy," the tall man answered.

The two were patrolling the streets, and they turned onto the main plaza.

"Weren't we supposed to tell him about some phone records?" Hunny asked. "Kyo-chan wanted us to check out Matsuoka's record, remember? I think Kyo-chan's been worried about him."

Mori nodded in the affirmative. And then he noticed something.

Hunny looked in the direction of Mori's gaze. "I wonder what all those people are looking at?" He grabbed onto Mori's hand. "Let's go see!"

The latest news was always posted on the sample TVs' at the electronic store. Hunny and Mori managed to push through the growing crowd to look up.

They dropped their mouths in shock.

_"News of a shootout involving two men, one of whom has been identified as Suoh Tamaki, the spokesman for a prominent Mafia chief…"_

"What happened?" Hunny whispered.

_"…The other man is Ohtori Kyouya, the young CEO of the Ohtori Group. As for why he was with Suoh Tamaki, the reasons remain unknown. However, we do know that he has been shot many times. Three, the reports say. He has been rushed to the hospital, but his condition is unknown. Meanwhile…"_

"He was shot…" Hunny finally whispered, the words barely coming out. "Kyo-chan…was shot. And they don't know if he's alive or not…" He looked up at Mori. "Takashi, do you think the others know about this?"

"Possibly. We should call."

"Yes."

Hunny took out his cell phone and called Kaoru. "Kaoru!" he cried out. "Bad news…"

--

She didn't recognize the neighborhood. They must have been driving for a long time then, or it was because night had fallen.

They grabbed her and led her to a basement apartment where they forced her into a stiff kitchen chair.

Kuze sat across from her, his face particularly dark today, she noted.

"Don't worry," he started. "I know you're not in the muscle end of the Group. I want you to help your Group, and I want you to help me."

She could only nod.

A drink was given to her, poured into a mug and roughly pushed across the table.

She pretended to take a sip.

"Ohtori is dead," he told her flatly. "And now I need you to make the peace."

She was surprised at the emotion she felt, more than she would have expected. She hadn't expected to feel grief, hadn't expected to feel sad. She kept the tears back, and merely nodded.

"That older Hitachiin – he wanted my deal, didn't he?" Kuze saw the look of surprise in the girl's eyes, and knew then that he was right. "I know these things. I know information, and that'll answer any dumb questions you might have for me, girl.

"You know it's the right thing to do. Narcotics are the coming thing, y'know? Ohtori"– he shook his head sadly –"was more like his father than he'd ever admit. Both of them were pretty old fashioned in thinking when this is the new millennium. Things change. There are new fads – and that, right now, is narcotics.

"And he's dead now. You can't change that. I hear that the older Hitachiin was going to take over next – not Suoh as everybody thinks. Suoh is too indecisive, too passionate. He's good, but the best he'll ever be is second fiddle. It's Hitachiin that will take over.

"So I'm ready to make a new deal–"

"Hikaru won't make any deal with the likes of you," she interrupted. "He'll come after you with everything he has."

Kuze smirked. "That'll be his first reaction, won't it? He'll make a hasty decision like that, one that he will regret later. And by then it will be too late. It'll be war, the first in fifteen years. Nobody will be on your side because war simply costs too much.

"But if he make the deal quietly, the rest of the Groups in Tokyo will consider it none of their business. Things will go on. Life moves on after you bury the dead."

Haruhi realized then that he had planned everything out. For the last three months, he had been planning for this this moment. When they thought he had been defeated, he was only scheming for more. They had all been caught into his trap, even Kyouya.

"Ohtori was too old-fashioned. For all his money and new technologies that he has power over, he still is old-fashioned, and that's why he lost. If it comes to an all-out war, your Group will lose everything, and that's bad business for everyone, including me. I mean, I need your political contacts more than I need the money. So talk to Hitachiin. Talk to your Group. You can help save a lot of blood."

Haruhi swished the liquid around in her cup. "I'll try," she said.

For the first time, she was beginning to get the feeling that she was not going to be killed. She was the negotiator, the mediator. She was relaying the information from Kuze to Hikaru.

She was not going to be killed. It was a thought that relieved, and at the same time, shamed her.

Glancing up, she saw Kuze's fierce grin, and she gasped. He knew what she was thinking. He knew that his words had registered into her head.

"I'll try my best," she said to him. And it was true. After all, it was part of her responsibility.

"Good," he said. "Because I don't like blood. It costs too much. I'm a businessman first myself, after all."

At that moment, the phone rang, and one of the other men went to go pick it up. "Okay, I'll tell him," the man said.

He went over to Kuze, and whispered something into his ear.

Kuze's face screamed of anger. He bit down hard on his orange and cursed.

And Haruhi knew then that something had happened. Something had happened that would no longer guarantee her safety. Something that might ultimately result in her death.

She gulped.

Who knew what would happen to her now.

* * *

Somehow, I can imagine Tamaki talking away when there are gunmen at his back. And I can somehow imagine Kyouya taking it for him. As for Tamaki's reaction, which might be a little OOC, I'll just say that you would act out of character if your best friend was shot in front of you.

As always, thanks for reading. Reviews are appreciated.

I really am glad for the feedback that I've been getting, so thanks again!


	6. Aftermath

I'm back, finally, and here is Ch. 6. I'm happy to say that I also have a beta, Salaleigh, who helped make this chapter a lot better.

Rated for language, as a warning.

Thanks for reading.

* * *

They had been thrown into chaos.

For almost thirty minutes, the phone lines were busy as they made frantic calls to one another and their own men began calling to see if their boss was alright or not.

Finally, they agreed to meet back at the mansion so they could start back at square one.

"Kaoru, Hikaru! Are you alright?" Hunny cried out, running into the living room where Hikaru and Kaoru were sitting solemnly.

Kaoru glimpsed up. "We're okay. What about you, Hunny-senpai? Mori-senpai?"

"We're fine. It's Kyouya, Tamaki, and Haruhi that aren't."

"Have you contacted Tamaki yet?" Mori asked, his voice stoic as always, even in a situation as difficult as this.

"We've tried, but he wasn't really coherent. He sounded so terrified and panicky we didn't learn anything about how Kyouya-senpai is." Kaoru sighed gustily. "We'll try again soon."

"And Haruhi?" Mori questioned.

"They say she's going to be let go in an about an hour or so," Hikaru replied. "She's not supposed to be hurt, but when can we ever trust them?" Hanging his head, he stared at the thick, burgundy carpet before crying out. "This is entirely my fault, isn't it? That bastard Kuze found out about me not agreeing with Kyouya-senpai somehow. Then he goes and pulls a stunt like this, thinking that if Kyouya-senpai is out of the picture we'll take the deal."

"It's not your fault, Hikaru. We're all in this together," Hunny murmured softly to the younger boy, before addressing the group. "Someone betrayed us to Kuze – that's what happened."

"And who's that?" Hikaru muttered irately. "The butler?"

"Close. We think it's Matsuoka, the driver," Hunny responded. "Takashi and I looked up his phone record for the past three months. He's been in contact with Kuze five times, the same number of times he's been 'sick.'"

"The bastard," Hikaru spat out, his voice starting to crescendo as his arms swung about wildly. "Bastard!"

"Hikaru!" Kaoru exclaimed, narrowly avoiding his twin's flailing arm. "Calm down! What Kuze wants right now is for you to get mad. Don't let him get to you."

"I know that," Hikaru hissed through gritted teeth. "But still – I'm going to get him no matter what! I'll get him with whatever it takes!"

"Hikaru! Are you even listening to me?"

--

Haruhi watched the transformation in Kuze.

He had become wild, cursing after every word. His brow was furrowed so tightly, Haruhi wondered if he was every going to say what had just been said.

She sat in her chair, holding the mug in her lap. Silent.

"Those goddamned idiots were fucking standing right in front of him…" he muttered, pacing away from her. "Those bastards. Three fucking bullets. And those little shits couldn't finish the job."

He turned back to Haruhi, his face turning purple with rage. "I bet you're wondering what I'm talking about, huh? I'll fucking tell you what I'm talking about. That damn Ohtori is still alive. Dammit! They got three bullets in his body, and they say he's going to live!" Kuze took a breath to compose himself, then grimaced. "Bad news," he remarked to her. "Bad news for me, and bad news for you."

--

Hikaru was never so relieved to hear Tamaki's shrill voice.

"They say he's going to live!" he cried over the phone. "Live! He's okay! Kyouya is okay!"

"That's great, but calm down, Milord," Hikaru soothed, using his and Kaoru's nickname for Tamaki for old times' sake. "If you keep yelling, Kyouya-senpai will wake up, won't he?"

He thought he could hear Tamaki's gulp over the line. "He won't!" Tamaki responded decidedly. "The doctors said he's fast asleep, and he's only going to be in the hospital for two or three weeks."

"That's good, really good," Hikaru's voice fell silent for a second, before hesitantly continuing the conversation. "And…Tamaki-senpai?"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Tamaki questioned, sounding perplexed. He thought for a moment before protesting. "Oh, Hikaru! You couldn't possibly think this was your fault? No, it's not! And I'm sure if you ask Hunny-senpai–"

"I did," he interjected. "And he said the same thing. But still…"

"Hikaru! He'll be okay, and I know for sure that Kyouya would never blame you for this, okay? And I hear that you've confirmed that Matsuoka fingered us out…"

"Yeah. Hunny-senpai got the records. It's not good."

"We'll deal with that later. I'll come home now – anyways, Fuyumi is watching him – and we'll discuss what happens next, okay?"

"Okay."

--

They gathered around the desk in the living room. The atmosphere, to say the least, was disheartening.

"You think Kuze knows?" Tamaki pondered. "That Kyouya is still alive?"

"He knows," Mori replied. "It's been three hours and Haruhi isn't back yet. She was supposed to be back in two."

"You don't think…" Hikaru began.

"No!" Hunny interrupted. "You need to be positive right now, Hika-chan! Nothing will be better even if you put all the blame on yourself. We're still in this situation. Together."

"That's exactly right," Tamaki interrupted. "We have to be positive."

He looked over at Hikaru, who was now writing something down on a pad. "What's that?" Tamaki probed curiously.

"The people I'm going to kill. Let's see, Matsuoka is first. Then Kuze…"

"Hikaru is fixated on killing Matsuoka now," Kaoru explained. "I tried to talk some sense into him, but he refuses to listen."

Before Tamaki could chide Hikaru on his hotheadedness, they heard the front door open. A gush of wind. A footstep.

They went silent.

"You guys here?"

Hikaru looked over his shoulder. Eye's widening in surprise, he leapt up and let out a yell. "Haruhi!"

--

They didn't want to let her go, but eventually, Haruhi had to break free of their holds and explain her ordeal.

"It was terrible," she recalled, shaking her head, "especially when Kuze found out that Kyouya-senpai was still alive. It was pretty obvious what was going to happen."

"So what did you do?" Kaoru asked her.

"Well, you kind of learn it from being in the police department for so long," she remarked. "I don't like doing it, but there are times you have to be really persuasive. I know now that if I ever have to testify before the Supreme Court, I'll be fine."

"You talked your way out?"

"I pleaded with him," she sighed. "I tried nearly everything I could think of. I said I could convince you guys to take the deal even though Kyouya-senpai was still alive…I." She shook her head sadly.

Hikaru seemed to be more relieved now, more relaxed and calm. Perhaps, Kaoru thought, he would give his previous statements a second thought.

"And what's this list?" she asked, nudging her head towards the note pad.

"Let's call it the 'Hit List,'" Hikaru said. "Matsuoka is first. Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai will take care of it, right?"

The two grimly nodded, and Kaoru sighed. Evidently, he was still bent on that.

Haruhi kept her gaze on the list. It was frightening, really, she thought. It was shocking that they wrote those names down just like that, and that those men would be dead soon. She shivered.

Up to this point, Tamaki had been silent. Suddenly he piped up, steering the conversation back to the obstacle at hand. "So what do we do?"

"I say we negotiate with him – for now," Kaoru replied. "Until Kyouya-senpai gets better. And I really hate to say this, but I think we'll have to make the deal."

"No, no, no." Tamaki stood up, seemingly prepared to go into his tirade against drugs. "We are not."

"But think about it, Tamaki-senpai," Kaoru countered. "Without Kyouya-senpai's personal contacts and influences right now, our Group will lose almost half its strength. Trust me, I don't want to either, but…"

"Let's not deal with this now," Hunny mediated. "Kyouya is okay. Haruhi is okay. That is what's important." Towards Tamaki, he added, "And the hospital is guarded with our bodyguards?"

"Yes," he replied. "Plus the detectives and Fuyumi."

"So, I think we should go to rest for now. It's late after all," Hunny continued. "We will visit Kyo-chan tomorrow."

They all agreed on that.

As they walked up the stairs, Hikaru turned on Haruhi. "Look, I'm really, really sorry."

"For what?" she inquired. Keeping her hand on the door knob, she added, "It's just part of my day now. Getting kidnapped, almost getting killed..."

"That's not funny!" he moaned, looking hurt. "Look, you could have been killed, you know."

She looked him in the eye, and replied, "I know. That's why you just have to live each day to the fullest, right?" Smiling, she opened the door to her room. "Good night, Hikaru."

"G'night," he replied. But he as he went to bed, he still couldn't shake the feeling off his back that Haruhi had almost been killed and it would have been his fault if she had.

He couldn't believe that only five hours ago, instant coffee had been his biggest worry.

Because right now, things were looking to be a lot more complicated.


	7. The Recipe for Disaster

Sorry for the delay. Thanks to **salaleigh** for being my helpful beta. Rated for language.

* * *

If it was one person who did not sleep well that night, it was Hunny.

It had been very well established at the group meeting as to what was to be done with Matsuoka, and there was no doubt that it had to be done as soon as possible.

Betrayal was not received well in the Group, or any Group for that matter. Matsuoka needed to be taught a lesson.

One last lesson, he wryly thought.

Kuze would know then that his rat had been found out, and he would have to be more on the defensive. He would know that the Ohtori Group had not gone soft.

At the same time, it was a warning to anyone else in their Group if they ever desired to leak information.

Hunny agreed with this reasoning, and he was, in no way, objected to the disposal of Matsuoka, but there was something in him that disagreed with this.

He tossed and turned that night, wondering what it could be.

It finally dawned on him. He didn't like killing.

Truth to be told, none of them did. Killing was only done if it was the only alternative left, if it became necessary that they should take a life of another.

Hunny believed that this is what separated them from the blood thirsty gangs that ran wild in the streets. They were rational thinkers, businessmen; they did not kill for the sport of it.

However, this assurance could not calm his nerves, and he spent the rest of the night debating on how to carry it out.

He and Takashi would be considered the "generals" of this Group. They were the ones who led the "soldiers" should it ever come to "war."

Ever since they had started the business, it had been peace, but in the Mafia underworld, it could very well be peace one day before it turned to bloody war.

One Group could be your ally one day, and become your deadliest enemy the next.

Hunny hoped that this would not be the case.

It wasn't until the break of day that Hunny finally managed to sleep still, and by then, everyone was getting up. So he dragged his body out of the comfort of his bed, and went into the bathroom to wash up.

He wondered if he would be able to get through the day, because the plan that he had thought of would require all of his energy.

--

Breakfast was a quiet affair.

Everyone ate quickly, and there were no conversations, no prank-playing today.

While Hunny and Mori were sent to get rid of Matsuoka, everyone else was going to visit Kyouya.

Hunny consulted his cousin on his plan afterwards, and Mori agreed.

It was well thought out, as to be expected of Hunny, Mori thought. Simple to understand, and easy to carry out.

He commended Hunny on his proposal, and Hunny beamed, his first smile of the day.

Hunny's plan was to tell Matsuoka that they needed to go to the mattresses.

In the times of war, it was often easier for the soldiers to stay together in close by apartments rather than in spread-out homes. Whenever the fear of war came, it was up to the generals to go buy the mattresses and rent the apartments.

It was only natural that Hunny and Mori go – with Matsuoka as a driver.

And, Hunny added, Matsuoka had proved himself to be greedy. There was no doubt that he would be interested in relaying this information to Kuze.

Mori replied by adding that Matsuoka should be very scared right now because Kyouya was still alive.

Hunny agreed, but the only point left that he was dissatisfied with now was the fact that the execution had to be public, because the body had to be found.

He would have much rather the body to simply disappear.

--

Yamato the butler informed Hunny at one o' clock that Matsuoka had arrived with the car.

Hunny alerted Mori, and they left the mansion together.

Everyone had already left to go to the hospital.

Matsuoka was already looking nervous when the two approached. It showed when Mori got in the seat directly behind the driver's seat, and Matsuoka spoke. "Morinozuka-san, you are so tall that it blocks my side-view mirror. Could you move to the seat next to you?"

Mori slid over to the next seat as if it was the most natural request in the world. Hiding his smile, Hunny got in the passenger seat.

"Tamaki," Hunny spat out, shaking his head, "is already scared – what a coward. He wants us to start looking for the mattresses already. Do you know any good places?" He hoped his acting would look plausible.

As expected, Matsuoka's eyes immediately lit up. "Yeah," he drawled, "I can think of a few places."

"Well, think fast." Hunny replied in a manner that he hoped sounded irritated. "We would prefer to get into the city today."

Matsuoka got quiet. Haninozuka Mitsukuni was a fighter to be feared, despite his short stature at five foot four, and he did not want to get into any kind of disagreement.

The drive into downtown Tokyo was an uneventful one, the hum of the engine filling the empty space of the sedan.

They drove around the city, pointing out potential candidates, and Hunny knew that Matsuoka was carefully taking note of each.

At the end of the day – around seven o' clock – Hunny declared that they needed to head back to the mansion. He thanked Matsuoka, who meekly nodded.

Just before they left the city, Hunny asked to stop at the cake shop just outside of downtown.

Matsuoka understood. For his age, the man ate too much sugar, but who was he to judge? He parked the car at the back parking lot, where only one other car stood.

Hunny got out, and said, "It'll be fast."

He shut the door behind him and with his back turned to the car, quietly said, "Do it."

Two gunshots fired, one after the other. He remembered flinching at the close range sound.

The next thing he knew, Mori was out of the car. He tossed the irretraceable gun into the tall bushes, and quickly walked to the other car.

Reaching underneath the front wheel, he found the forehand placed car key. He unlocked the door, and got in. Hunny got into the passenger seat.

They left the city, and drove back to the suburbs, where their mansion was.

--

It was the first time that Haruhi had seen Kyouya so defenseless, so serene.

He was sleeping soundly under a duvet cover, the breathing mask covering his mouth. With his glasses off, Haruhi thought he looked like a completely different person.

Tamaki had more or less barged into the room, running to the lone seat by his friend's bedside. "Kyouya! Oh, thank goodness; he's still asleep."

The nurse, a young woman, walked over towards Tamaki. "Suoh-san, please keep your voice down. You are in the hospital."

"Sorry," he flushed.

"Yeah, Tamaki-senpai, don't hurt Kyouya-senpai again," Hikaru said, sidling up to his right side.

"Or he might demote you to some horrible job," finished Kaoru, going to the left.

"You twins! And in such a fragile situation! Kyouya knows that I am his best friend and would never hurt him intentionally!"

"_Intentionally_," Hikaru emphasized, "did you hear him say that, dear brother?"

"Yes, actually, I did. Also–"

"You guys," Haruhi snapped, cutting in between them, "I think you've hurt Tamaki-senpai enough already." She turned towards him and added, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" he exclaimed, lest Haruhi see any sign of weakness in him. "Now, let's wake him up!"

"With all the talking you've been doing, I'm already up."

Tamaki swerved around, finding himself face-to-face with a calm look. "Kyouya," he chirped, "you're up!"

"Really, now," he replied. Kyouya sat upright in the bed, and he put on his glasses. Without any prompting, Haruhi handed him the latest reports.

He accepted it, and began reading it. This might as well have been a regular meeting, and Haruhi noticed that Kyouya's being in a hospital bed did not take any intimidation away from him.

_How scary._

"In any case," he said, "Hunny and Mori-senpai will have taken care of Matsuoka, and that's done. So our course of action now is, what to say to Kuze?"

"Well, Tamaki-senpai disagrees," Kaoru began, "but I think we have too."

"And that is very true," Tamaki said, "Kyouya, you do understand what I'm saying, right? We can't be involved in something as sordid as this, right?"

"Hn."

"Because it goes against our morals, right?"

"Hn."

"Drugs are no good for you, and it might get our own men addicted, too."

"Hn."

"And worst of all, it'll hurt our image to the other Groups because they'll think it's okay to do drugs, and then they'll do it too, right?"

"Hn."

"Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi interrupted, "I hope you've noticed by now that Kyouya-senpai isn't even listening to you."

"Oh, no, dear Haruhi. It just _looks_ that way, but Kyouya is listening to me, right? Right?"

Looking up from his report, Kyouya said, "I'm afraid that I missed your, ah, words."

Tamaki nearly fell over.

--

At home the next day, the six of them met again.

"Did you guys hear about the hit?" Hunny asked them gravely.

"Yeah," Hikaru answered, "one of our men hit a high-ranked official of Kuze's. Four o' clock today."

"I hope this wasn't because of you," Kaoru directed at him.

"Huh? What?" Hikaru's guilt was obvious, and Kaoru sighed.

"Okay, so one of our negotiators called me," Haruhi began by saying, " and he said that Kuze wants a meeting with us so–"

"Kuze? A meeting?" Hikaru cut in. "Can you imagine the balls on that sonofabitch? After he loses it two days ago, too, and now he wants a meeting? Yeah. As if we're supposed to sit back and take whatever he says. The nerve of that damn Kuze."

Hikaru, his brother noted, was in much higher spirits now that Matsuoka was dead. Did he think that just because the traitor was dead, everything would be all right? Kaoru hoped not.

The news of Matsuoka's death came out today. One of their men actually called to notify Kaoru, but when he only replied with an affirmative, void of emotion, the man knew that Matsuoka had been a traitor.

"Anyways," Haruhi continued, "I said yes to it, and Kuze says anytime, too."

"Of course he says anytime!" Hikaru cried. "If he shows one hair, I'll get him. There are a hundred of our men out there just waiting for him. Anytime, he says. The bastard."

"Was there a definite proposal?" Mori questioned.

"Yeah, it's probably going to be tomorrow or the day after," she replied. "And…um…"

"What?"

"They actually want me to go listen to their proposition," she finished, a bit uneasy.

"You?" Kaoru asked. "Was there a reason?"

"None given, but I think I can guess why." Haruhi sighed and added, "I have a feeling it's because I'm new or something like that. Besides, I don't think Kuze is done yet. He probably still has a card of his somewhere.

"Anyways the arrangement is this: my safety is guaranteed. Kuze knows he can't ask for his own, so as a compromise, I will be meeting on his side. He will pick me up, and we'll meet somewhere to talk. After that, he'll let me loose, and I'll come back. The promise is that the deal is so good that we can't turn them down."

"And what about the death of the official and Matsuoka?" Hunny asked.

"That's been integrated to part of the deal," Haruhi explained.

Hikaru continued, "They'll forget those two. They pay for what they did to Kyouya-senpai. One cancels the other." He laughed. "Nervy bastards."

"We should hear what they say," Haruhi ventured.

"Hear what they say? Are you crazy?" Hikaru turned on her. "No, no, I don't want any meetings, no more Kuze tricks, no more discussions of any sort. When you get into contact with the negotiator again, tell him only one thing. I want Kuze. If not, it's an all-out war. We'll go to the mattresses, we'll send out the men necessary. Business will just have to suffer."

"The other Groups won't stand for this," Tamaki said, speaking up for the first time. "No matter how small they are, if they rally against us, they will be strong."

Hikaru shrugged. "It's simple, really. Make Kuze give himself up or fight the Ohtori Group." He paused, then said roughly, "And I don't want to hear advice on how to patch things up. It's war."

Listening, Hunny and Mori couldn't help but feel caught in the middle. After all, it was their lives that were being put on the line if it went to war.

"We don't have to go to war!" Tamaki exclaimed. "There are other ways of solving this, too!"

"We're not going to solve this like some dipshit, girly truce way, okay?" Hikaru pointed his index finger to the ceiling. "We're going to solve this the real way. And that means, _guns_."

All through this, Haruhi was deep in thinking. If the situation was as she imagined, then it was quite simple.

A man came to a Group asking for finance to fund a business in narcotics.

The Group refused, basing their answer on morals, and the man plotted a vendetta. He tried to kill the leader, but failed, and to take the easy way out, he was now going to try to negotiate his way out.

If they went to war, business would be bad, people would die, and the reputation of their Group would suffer. If they made a truce, they would be seen as weak, and this too would weaken their reputation.

And it became clear to Haruhi, in a logical way, that the only solution was to kill Kuze.

By killing him, the rest would fall into place. No official would have the guts to face Kyouya, especially when he arose from his hospital bed.

_Kill Kuze, and the rest falls in place._

The more she thought about it, the more sense it made, but just as she was about to voice her opinion, a call came.

"Hello?" Tamaki picked up.

"Hello?" a frantic voice piped up, "is this Tamaki-kun?"

"Fuyumi-san!" he cried, "what's wrong?"

"Oh, Tamaki-kun! Thank goodness! You see, I just came to the hospital, and…and, there's simply no one here! No detectives or bodyguards. Kyouya was all by himself, and I–"

"No one is there?" he nearly shouted, and this alerted everyone else. "Why, what about the nurses? Doctors?"

"The nurses are here and so are the doctors…at least, I think they are. Wait, I'll check." Tamaki could hear the sound of a door opening and Fuyumi's high heels clicking along the floor. He heard a gasp. "Oh! There are only a few nurses on this floor…"

"Doctors?" Tamaki uneasily asked.

"G-gone…"

"Okay, calm down, Fuyumi-san," he said, "we should be thankful that you just got there. We're coming soon, so until then, please watch Kyouya."

"Oh, thank goodness. I was so worried, seeing Kyouya all by himself, too. Especially since this is one of our hospitals, too…"

"I'll talk to you later then, Fuyumi-san," Tamaki said.

"Yes, of course," she replied.

The line went out, and silence filled the room as each of them imagined what had just transpired between Tamaki and Fuyumi.

Hikaru broke the silence. "We're all screwed, aren't we?"

The silence confirmed the answer as an affirmative.

* * *

Cliffhanger! I have a feeling that I'm being kind of harsh to them, but oh well.

Reviews are appreciated.


	8. Hospital Mishaps

Arugh...School has only just started, but I already feel stressed. I know it's been a while (_coughcough_), but here an update. Yes! Rated for language and possible themes.

* * *

Fuyumi sat by Kyouya's side, unsure of what to say to him should he wake up. He was a perfectionist at heart, and she knew that he would be upset to hear of the latest dilemma.

She sat by his side, and watched him sleep. After her call to Tamaki, her initial worries were mostly gone, but still, she couldn't help but feel alarmed.

Why were the detectives and bodyguards gone? Why had even the doctors disappeared?

Fuyumi may not have been taught to become an official in her family, but she did know the dangers her brother and Group faced. She read the papers, and lately, her brother was showing up more and more. She knew that there were several newspapers on the Group's payroll, but Kyouya was never one who asked for undesired attention.

She read about a rumored narcotics man, who had tried to find finance for a new drug deal. She read about Kyouya's shooting, and she knew that the two were connected.

On her own, Fuyumi deduced that the disappearance of the bodyguards and detectives were caused as a result of this narcotics man. After failing once, the man was probably going to try again.

She remembered, once, twenty years ago when their father was shot. She had been so scared, so terrified, that she herself had suffered a seizure.

The media had been everywhere, and they even followed her to school and when she was with her friends. She had wanted to disappear.

Now at thirty-six, she lived with her husband and two children in another neighborhood. She hadn't wanted her sons to be brought into the "family business," and Kyouya had respected her decision. His nephews, therefore, knew him as a famous businessman, not as the mafia chief of an infamous Group.

Her husband knew, as is inevitable when a man marries into such a distinguished family. Shido worked at a software engineering company, and for the most part, her family and Kyouya did not come into contact.

Until now.

A nurse crept into the room, and Fuyumi turned her head. "Yes?" she said.

"I'm sorry, ma'am," the girl said, "but visiting hours are over."

"But this is my family's hospital." Fuyumi remained seated.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, "but we can't make exceptions."

"Do you know who my brother is?" Fuyumi quietly asked. "Have you seen the papers? People are coming to kill him. Why else are there no doctors here?"

She wasn't going to have a seizure like last time, and for some reason, Fuyumi felt strangely calm about the whole situation.

With this newfound strength, Fuyumi said to the nurse, "Can we move him?"

"What? – of course not! There are hospital regulations, and not to ment–"

"There's a room down the hallway," Fuyumi interrupted, "and it's empty. I'm sure we can push his bed to there. If we can just disconnect the tubes for a second."

"Disconnect the tubes? But those are for breathing and–"

"Kyouya-kun can breathe fine on his own. Just help me." Fuyumi stood up, and went to the head of the bed, located along a wall. She pushed it out, and she motioned to the nurse, "Could you help?"

The nurse stuttered, and looked on the floor. Finally, she came over to Fuyumi, and helped her lug Kyouya's movable bed to another room.

Through it all, he was asleep. Fuyumi watched his sleeping figure, and brushed the hair from his eyes. "Don't worry, Kyouya-kun. This time, I'll help you."

--

Haruhi rolled her eyes.

On their way to the hospital, they realized that they were stuck in _traffic_.

Traffic.

Oh, the irony of it all.

--

After convincing the nurse to stay, Fuyumi left the hospital room, and went out to the front.

By now, it was almost nine, and she pulled up the collar of her jacket. The biting December wind hurt. She watched for Tamaki's car and any suspicious character.

A hooded figure slowly came towards the hospital driveway. Fuyumi pulled up on the hood, to conceal her hair. She watched him come closer.

Was it an assassin? Or perhaps Kuze?

His – or her – face was concealed, and Fuyumi wondered if she should call out to the stranger.

The figure came closer to her, and she stepped back, going up one step of the stairs leading to the hospital's front doors.

Then, the figure took off its hood to reveal that it was–

"Tamaki-kun!" Fuyumi cried out his name with much relief.

"Sorry, Fuyumi-san, we got stuck in traffic," he said, brushing his hair away, "and I offered to walk here."

"Walk? How far was it?"

"Oh, not far. I think it was twenty minutes, more or less."

Fuyumi dragged on his arm towards indoors. "You must be freezing. Here, let's go inside, and you can sit down."

"Sit down? Why, Fuyumi-san, people are coming to kill Kyouya. We can't go inside. I'll wait outside for the rest of them to come. You go inside."

"I couldn't do that," she replied, "I'll wait with you."

"But it's very cold, Fuyumi-san…"

"It's cold for both of us. I don't mind."

Tamaki smiled. "Thank you."

They stood side-by-side in silence until Tamaki asked her, "Why were you out here?"

"I was worried someone might come," she said, "and I did see someone, but it turned out to be you! So I'm glad that you managed to get here."

"Well," he said, "there are some people very intent on killing my best friend. There's no way that I would just sit by."

"Indeed."

Ten more minutes passed until a car began to turn onto the hospital drive.

"Is that your car?" Fuyumi asked.

"No." Tamaki frowned, then his eyes widened. "Oh, Fuyumi-san! It might be–"

"An assassin? Then what do we do?"

Tamaki turned towards her, and said, "Well, you should keep your hood on and your collar up so they won't see that you're a girl. See, put your right hand kind of inside your jacket." He demonstrated. "Yeah, like that. So they'll think you have a gun."

He did the same, and the two of them stood there, watching the car come closer.

"Where did you learn this, Tamaki-kun?" Fuyumi inquired.

"Commoner gangster movies!" he replied. "Haruhi showed me them, and I have to admit that they're rather entertaining. It's basically like yazuka movies, only they take place in New York."

"Oh."

The car came closer.

Fuyumi gulped.

The car parked in front of them, and Tamaki reminded her, "Look tough. That's what it's always like in gangster movies."

She merely nodded.

The back door opened.

"Tama-chan! Are you okay?" The effervescent voice of Hunny was heard.

One by one, the others got out.

"Damn traffic," Hikaru moaned. "Took so damn long."

"That's why we should have taken the subway," Haruhi said to him. "It's faster."

"Commoner transportation is always full of people though," Kaoru replied, "it's so claustrophobic."

"Anyway, I'm so glad that you guys made it!" Tamaki proclaimed. "But while you were whittling your lives away in a stuffed car, _I_ was busy being protective bodyguard, and I have to say that I acted like a really professional one, right, Fuyumi-san?"

Fuyumi smiled.

--

"We need to move him back," Hunny said. "Being in a hospital – even if it belongs to our Group – is too dangerous. Kuze was behind this, wasn't he?"

"It's the only possibility," Hikaru was adamant, "and I bet that bastard thinks he's as sneaky as hell. Getting rid of all the detectives and bodyguards. Doctors, too. What a jerk."

"Well, I've spoken to the hospital," Haruhi read from a form, "and they say that they can move him tomorrow. I said great."

"Okay, so that deals with one problem," Kaoru concluded, "but what about that meeting with Kuze?"

Everyone immediately looked to Hikaru, but he only shrugged. "I've said my opinion. What do you guys think?"

Haruhi took a deep breath. She wondered if she should say this, and she was a bit hesitant. She knew that this was the only logical way to go with this, and it was only way to be rid of Kuze once and for all.

She opened her mouth, but quickly stopped.

Mori saw her though, and to Haruhi, it seemed to her as if he was telling her to say it.

Finding courage from him, she said, "I have something to say."

Hikaru nodded at her. "Go for it."

"Well, they want me to meet with them," her voice became clear and articulate, "so it will be me and Kuze on our own. Set the meeting up for the day after tomorrow, and get our informers to find out where the meeting will be.

"Insist that it has to be a public place, like a restaurant or bar, because I don't want to be going into any apartments or basements. I'll feel more relaxed, and they will too.

"They'll probably check me for a gun when I meet with them, so I can't have a…gun with me, but if you can find some way to install the gun there, I can pretend to go to the bathroom. And when I come back, I'll take him."

All five heads looked at her. Hunny, Mori, and Tamaki looked shocked, but there was something in their manner that suggested an understanding.

Hikaru and Kaoru, however, started laughing.

"You? Shoot Kuze?" Hikaru was stuck in a fit of snickering. "Wow, seeing Kyouya-senpai get all banged up must have really upset you or something." He turned towards his brother. "And who was the one saying that _I_ was overreacting? You must have missed this girl then, because she's–"

"Please, stop laughing." The change in Haruhi was astounding. Her eyes were determined and her skin had turned a bleached color.

"Haruhi, what makes you say this?" Tamaki's voice seemed sad.

Turning towards him, she said, "I'm not sure myself…But I see Kuze trying to kill Kyouya-senpai so badly when he's pretty much helpless, and I wonder: is this what I've gotten myself into? Another world, only weirder?"

"Haruhi…"

"But I think that I did make the right decision," she continued, "as strange as that may seem. I know you guys have helped me a lot, and it's only right that I do something to prove myself. For myself."

Tamaki's eyes were glittering, and he sprung himself on her. "My daughter! Say no more, say no more! I understand your pain _perfectly_ – why else am I not the ideal father? In fact, I'm willing to–"

"Senpai…you're really heavy…"

He jumped off her, and began to apologize profusely. She smiled.

Seeing this, the others relaxed. Hunny spoke, "But does she have to shoot him? I'm sure there are other cleaner methods of killing. Besides, Haruhi doesn't have any experience. It would be suicidal for her."

"Yeah." Haruhi folded her arms. "That's true, I guess. I was just trying to think of something."

"Takashi and I could teach you though," Hunny offered. "Maybe not for this time, but for others. You know, as self-defense."

"Thanks."

"And Hikaru and I will find out where the meeting is, so we'll also figure another way for you to get him," Kaoru said.

"That works."

"So it's decided?" Tamaki asked, and he turned towards her. "Haruhi, you don't have to do this. I could go."

"No." Haruhi shook her head. "We can convince ourselves of whatever we want, but we got it right the first time. And there's no point in arguing amongst ourselves."

"It's true," Hunny said, "Haruhi is perfect for a million reasons, and I know she won't fail, right, Takashi?"

"She won't."

"See? This is our decision, and we'll leave Kyou-chan out of it, because he's done enough," Hunny finished. He looked around. "Okay?"

There was a collective okay from everyone, and the meeting was left at that.

Still, Kaoru thought, as they went into Kyouya's hospital room, he couldn't help but feel a bit glum. The statesman forced into a hospital bed, and the lawyer forced to go on the frontline.

It was going to be another long, long day.

--

"Anthrax."

Kaoru was reading a report as Hikaru's voiced came into his bedroom. "What?"

"The perfect solution is what I've got."

"And what's that?"

"Anthrax. Didn't you hear me, dummy?"

"Anthrax? You want to expose Kuze to anthrax or something?" Kaoru set down his book. "Look, I know you're pretty upset that Haruhi is doing this, but there's no point in– "

"Don't you get it?" Hikaru ran a hand through his hair. "We can spike a note or something with anthrax on it, and Haruhi can give it to him. He opens it – and bam! Dead Kuze. Simple." He grinned.

And Kaoru gave him a look. "Are you drunk?" he asked.

"No, but I will be if you say no."

"Hikaru, look, I'm sorry, but what kind of plan is that? Where are we getting the anthrax? How are we going to carry this out? Honestly, I don't understand how we can do that when we don't even know where the meeting is going to be, and I–"

"Whoa, Kaoru," he cut in, "what's with you? You sound congested."

Kaoru sighed. "Maybe a bit stressed. I just got another report on the possibilities of the meeting place. Too many though."

"Where's Haruhi?"

"In her room, I imagine. She's working on getting Kyouya-senpai back today."

"Ah. Right. Especially after that fiasco yesterday, too."

Nodding, Kaoru motioned for Hikaru to sit down, and he did. "So what now?" he asked Hikaru.

"Kill Kuze – obviously."

"No, I mean after that."

"What do you mean? Go back to what we do. Have you lost your memory or something?"

"No," Kaoru replied, sighing, "it's just that I have a bad feeling that nothing will ever be the same."

Hikaru paused at that. Then, he bowed his head. "Amen to that, brother."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Comments/criticism will be appreciated.


	9. Hard Times Call For Such Actions

**Author's Note:** I would like to clarify something: some people think this is a pairing story. (Which one, I do not know). Others think this is a HaruhixHostClub story. To tell the truth, I never intended for any pairing, and everything has ended up the way it is just because. I wanted to show that Haruhi has become important to everyone because there was no Host Club and this is an AU. I apoligize if some people are disappointed because while I definitely think there are "moments" with Haruhi and another, there will never really be "romance."

If anyone _does_ want a pairing, let me know and I will consider it. After all, this depends on the next direction that the story takes.

**Warning:** This chapter has minor gore and yes, character death. It should be pretty obvious as to who it is though. The violence is not that bad, and I'm not planning for this to be the norm. I think this chapter will probably be the most "violent" one in the whole fic. I don't think I need to change the rating to an M, therefore, with this reasoning. If anyone feels that the rating should be changed, let me know.

* * *

"Now, hold your arm up," he said, "and fire!"

Haruhi pressed the trigger, and she felt the recoil of the gun as her arm was pushed back. The bullet missed the target completely.

She, Hunny, and Mori were now in the target training room, where targets and practice guns were set up. She was amazed at how well facilitated they were, but realized that it was probably because of their money.

"I've kept the loud sound for a reason," Hunny said, "because you don't want any bystanders being heroic or anything. The sound will keep them away, and trust me – everyone will be scared of you."

"I see, so as long as I'm within a foot, the aim doesn't have to be great, right?"

Hunny looked at Mori and then at her. "Yes, but still Haru-chan…"

"Don't worry about me, Hunny-senpai," she replied. "I'll be fine."

In the end, it was decided that a gun was to be installed beforehand in the location of which Haruhi was to meet Kuze. Hikaru's wild suggestion of a spiked anthrax note had to be tossed simply because. How were they going to find anthrax on such a short notice? It was irrational of him propose such an idea, as Tamaki later put it.

Kaoru found out the location from the informer. It was a restaurant called Iccho, a place that Hikaru had heard of and he described it as "a quiet family-run place where everyone minds their own business."

It was perfect, he noted, for this operation.

Hunny was going to hide the gun, and it was determined that it was going to hid behind one of the toilet in the women's restroom. The details were simple, almost easy: she was to talk and get comfortable with Kuze. In the middle then, she was to excuse herself to the restroom.

"And come out blasting," Hikaru added.

"Remember, twice in the head," Kaoru mentioned, holding up two fingers, " just to make sure."

"My daughter's innocence!" Tamaki cried. "Lost! Haruhi, don't do it! I can do it for you!"

"Kuze wouldn't let you within a mile of him," she replied. "I can do it."

"Haruhi! It's horrible that the world should come to this! That my dear girl will have to…will have to…" He couldn't finish, but everyone knew it. Haruhi was going to kill someone. The idea was something inconceivable, yet it was their decision.

But, she reasoned, it was someone bad who tried to hurt others and was willing to go to the distance to get what he wanted. They had to agree when they heard her say that, though it was with resignation and reluctance.

"So have some faith in me, Tamaki-senpai," Haruhi said. She cocked the gun and shot again, this time hitting the outermost ring of the target.

"Good job, Haruhi!" Hunny clapped his hands. "And that target was twenty feet away, too!"

Haruhi gave a weak smile. After three days of training, she had managed to hit something.

"So what are you going to do after you shoot him?" Hikaru asked her. Tamaki inched towards her.

"I…leave?"

"Exactly," he said. "Walk out, but don't run. Don't look anyone in the eye, but don't look away either. Mori-senpai will be outside waiting for you so you can get away fast. Man," Hikaru shook his head, "everyone's gonna be scared shitless of you."

"Er, thanks." Haruhi took off the goggles she wore for safety and set it aside. "What time is it?"

"It's ten to eight. You're supposed to meet Kuze at eight-thirty in front of the Grand Theatre. He and his driver will pick you up there."

"Anything else I need to know?"

"Yes," Tamaki said, and he put his hands on her shoulder. "That we believe in you, and we know that we can put our lives in your oh-so-small hands."

"Yeah," Hikaru added, "we know you can do it."

"What will happen afterwards?" Haruhi put on her coat.

"Why," Tamaki's eyes glazed over, "it'll be war."

"War?"

"Yes, that is unless Kyouya can find some way to get us out. Kuze has quite a large group of supporters, and I am sure they won't be pleased to have him dead."

"What will happen to me?"

"Hiding," Kaoru said. "It's a good thing that you have a low-profile. It might be months, maybe a year because you can come out again. But you'll always be with us."

"I see." She looked down.

_Am I doing the right thing..._

"I guess I'll be going," she said.

_...to take the life of another?_

"Wait, Haruhi!" Hikaru came after her, but he seemed hesitant about something. Finally, he wrapped his arms around her. "You can do it," he whispered in her ear.

"I know," she whispered back. "But I need to go now."

He let her go just as Tamaki began complaining, so Haruhi gave him a hug as well. It set off a chain of events, and she ended up giving everyone a hug.

And then, she left.

And they could only hope that she was going to be okay.

Tamaki turned towards the others. "Now, let's get ready. As soon as Haruhi is done, our work begins. Hikaru – are the newspaper reporters lined up?"

Hikaru nodded. "I'll start feeding them information as soon as things break. Everyone in the city is going to find out about this dirty narcotics guy."

"Good. We're going to make sure that something like this never, _never_ happens again."

--

Kuze was punctual it turned out.

He arrived precisely at eight-thirty, and she was glad for this because it was getting increasingly windy.

It was a small discreet sedan. The front door opened, and she could see Kuze's eyes glinting in the back seat.

She ventured forward, and she sat down on the seating next to a driver that she did not recognize. "Togoin Makoto," Kuze said by way of explanation.

Nodding, she wondered if this was violating the rights they had set upon because the informer had never mentioned another person with them. If anything, it made her job a lot harder if she had to deal with two. She decided not to think about it.

"Fujioka-san," Kuze continued, "I hope we can sort out our differences tonight. This sort of thing should have never happened. It's terrible, really."

"I hope so too," she said to him, "but first, I want your guarantee that there are no more attempts on Ohtori-san's life."

"There won't be. I swear on the lives of my family members." Kuze gave a chuckle, and she tensed immediately. "But Fujioka-san, don't you see? I am the hunted one here. Your opinion of me is too high. Just keep an open mind though. Not like that Hitachiin – it's impossible to talk business with a hothead like him."

No, she thought. It was too suspicious, and it sounded too good to be true. He was making no promise. She realized that this meeting was only to postpone things for another day or two. When Kuze got the next chance, he was going to strike again. Another reason why she needed to take him down now.

The ride was quiet for the rest of the way, and finally it stopped in front of a small restaurant.

She stepped out, and expected Togoin Makoto to as well, but thankfully, he did not. He remained in the car, and she entered the building with Kuze.

Inside, Kuze asked for a table for two. He refused the offer for a booth, and the two took a seat at a table in the center.

The restaurant was relatively empty, with only one other table occupied. Haruhi wondered if they had been installed there by Kuze, but realized that it didn't matter.

After the menus were handed to them, Kuze clasped his hands together and leaned forward. His voice was low as he began. "First of all, I need you to understand that what happened between me and Ohtori was strictly business. I hold a great amount of respect for him, and would gladly take an opportunity for work for him. But he has an old fashioned way of thinking despite his youth, and he stands in the way of revolutionary changes. The business I am in is cutting edge, and it's worth millions.

"He's blocking my way. Sure, yes, he says, 'Go ahead, it's your business,' but we both know that it's unrealistic. We cannot go our separate ways without getting involved somehow. It's impossible.

"What Ohtori is telling me is that he doesn't like my business, and he refuses to let me operate. I am a man who respects himself, and I will allow no one – not even Ohtori – to get in my way.

"I propose a peace, a truce of sorts until he is ready to take part in the negotiations. Meanwhile, I need to make a living. I now ask not for the Ohtori Group's cooperation, but for their silence."

Haruhi listened, and she replied, "Tell me more about how you propose to start your business, what part my Group will play, and how much profit we can make."

"You want the whole proposition in detail then?" Kuze asked gravely.

She nodded, understanding the situation that she was in. Then she made a wincing face, something that Kuze noticed instantly. "Is there something wrong?" he said.

"I apologize," she said, "but could you please excuse me while I go to the restroom?"

Kuze looked to the other table. He didn't like it. His sensors were extremely acute, and he was fast. He was nervous for no reason at all, even when the man at the other table there shook his head as if in confirmation that there was no person in the restroom.

He gave Haruhi one last look before allowing her to go in. "Don't take too long," he warned. She left the table feeling relieved, but a wave of nerves came crashing soon thereafter.

She actually had to use the toilet, and she reached behind the seat to find a gun taped there. Hunny, as always, had done his job well.

His gentle reminders that the gun was irretraceable eliminated some of her worries, and she washed her hands again in the sink.

For good measure, she splashed a handful of water on her face, and she watched it trickle downwards as she stared at herself in the mirror.

She almost didn't recognize herself, the image that she saw.

And then she was ready. With one last breath, she hid the gun inside her coat pocket, and she left the restroom. As she sat down at the table, she apologized for the wait.

Kuze did not seem to mind. He continued talking.

Hikaru had told her to "come out blasting," but Haruhi could not do that. She couldn't bring herself to. She had decided that it would be wiser to listen to Kuze some more.

He talked and talked, but Haruhi wasn't registering any of it. His words went over her head, and blood was pounding in her heart. She was nodding absentmindedly. She could hear her heart and her head. And her head was being clear, very clear.

It was telling her to do it.

_No, not yet._

Do it. Do it.

_No!_

The waiter appeared to take their order, and Kuze stopped. He looked to her to state her order, but she gapped.

_Do it!_

And she did.

She whipped out the gun, and nearly jumped up while shoving the table away with her left hand. The gun came within a foot of Kuze's head when she fired. Kuze with his fast reflexes had already begun to turn, but Haruhi, younger, managed to be faster.

The bullet caught him square between his eye and ear, and the explosion caused a huge gout of blood to spill out. Skull fragments hit the petrified waiter's jacket.

Though inexperienced, she knew that one bullet had been enough. As Kuze's head turned back towards hers, she had seen the last flicker of light in his eyes die out.

It seemed like the air was full of pink mist. She was overwhelmed by it all, and was only moments away from throwing up, but she kept her composure.

Instinctively, she dropped the gun, but it seemed like no one else heard. Their eyes – the waiter, the man at the other table – were on her.

She did as Hikaru had told her, and she walked out of the restaurant as fast as she could. Mori was outside waiting for her. She noticed that the car in which she and Kuze had come in was gone.

When she entered the passenger's seat, he asked, "Did you do it?"

"Yes, yes." Her voice was high-pitched, and without knowing it, her hands were shaking. She was struggling to put on her safety belt. Mori helped her.

"Are you sure?" He didn't want to ask, but it was all procedure.

"I-I…saw his brains."

Haruhi was quiet for the long drive back, and Mori, soft-spoken by nature, did not try to initiate a conversation.

It wasn't until she got back to the mansion, darted up to her room, and locked the door that she began to cry.

--

The day after the murder of Kuze Takeshi, officials from his business came to the Ohtori Group with a statement asking for them to give up the murderer.

They were told that the affair did not concern them.

That night, a grenade hit a smaller compound of the mansion by an unknown man in a driving by Jeep.

Two men from the Ohtori Group were killed later as they ate their dinner peacefully in a bar.

And it became official.

The first war in fifteen years had begun.

* * *

How was it? I hope it wasn't corny and that it was clear to readers what happened, why it happened and that everyone is still in character. This chapter was really, really hard to write because I had no idea how Haruhi would act in such a tense situation. She's been through so much, and she must be going crazy right now. I can hardly blame her for her actions; it must be terrifying.

Reviews are appreciated and loved. I will try my best to answer any question anyone may have.


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